‘From Straight to Bizarre’ DVD Documents History of Frank Zappa’s Early Record Labels

When Frank Zappa parted ways with Verve Records in 1968, he knew what was best for his career moving forward, and that was starting his own label.

Actually, Zappa co-founded two labels — the Straight and Bizarre imprints (which were distributed by Warner Brothers). And not only was Zappa’s then-band, the Mothers of Invention, part of the collective roster, but so were some other now-legendary artists, including Captain Beefheart and Alice Cooper.

The behind-the-scenes story of how everything came together has been documented in the new DVD ‘From Straight to Bizarre: Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper and LA’s Lunatic Fringe,’ which is scheduled for a Feb. 21 release.

The Straight label played a key role in the career of Alice Cooper, releasing his pre-fame studio albums ‘Pretties for You’ (1969) and ‘Easy Action’ (1970). Other Straight artists included Beefheart (who as Don Van Vliet was a teenage friend of Zappa’s) and fellow singer/songwriter Tim Buckley (who, like son Jeff Buckley years later, would see his life and music career cut short by an accidental death).

‘From Straight to Bizarre,’ produced by Sexy Intellectual and distributed by MVD Entertainment Group, includes interviews with Pamela Des Barres (a member of the Zappa-assembled group the GTO’s, which recorded for Bizarre) and musician/producer Kim Fowley (whose credits include the first Mothers of Invention album, ‘Freak Out!’).

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